I'm certain that there were and are a number of candidates who really believe that they would be the best to win against Obama but what that really got for those of us in the conservative camp was a true non-conservative on any level, simply because the others refused to pool their resources for "the best candidate" to win.
May I suggest a modest correction?
...too many weak candidates claiming the conservative mantle??
Fact is, every one of the choices on the conservative side was deeply flawed.